


Robin Battle

by TowerofBabel



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman - Fandom, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Dick fights in a speedo, Dick vs Tim, Joker's night club, Multi, Tim gets his ass handed to him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29452896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TowerofBabel/pseuds/TowerofBabel
Summary: After Tim Drake infiltrates a night club run by Joker, he has to unfortunately do combat with Dick Grayson who is under the influence of "Happy Gas" making Grayson lose all sense of civility. On the dance floor among clubbers, a Robin Battle happens: Drake vs Grayson! Student vs Mentor. No holds barred!
Kudos: 5





	1. Part 1

Before Red Robin left to enter the throngs of people on the dance floor (run by Joker; they had infiltrated the club in secret but now their secret was out) to retrieve Dick Grayson (not acting himself), he put some earplugs in to muffle the loud deafening music. He also switched on his night vision in his mask, so he could see better within the darkened atmosphere.

However, due to the continuous flashes of lights that made the club appear like something out of the 1970s Disco era, he switched the contrast to grayscale. This way the flashes wouldn't suddenly blind him. Instead, the lights would just appear as slightly darkened added lines.

He had never needed to use grayscale vision before in the field, but he had practiced using it in War Room with the stimulator in the Batcave. It felt weird losing all colour within his eyes, but he started to get used to it the more he practised, and now he knew what it felt like for people who were colour blind. For his own interest, he had researched colour blindness on the internet and found there were at least two-million people who had the condition and most of them were males. It was the simple fact that those people had a colour deficiency within the iris of the pupil.

Now it was time to put all his practise training into real time use. If only the world would use grayscale in everyday life, he thought, then there'll be a lot less racial profiling. But that was not for him to say. Prejudice was prejudice, and no matter how many understood that the colour of a person's skin shouldn't matter, it was their way of thinking that was the main factor.

"Think differently", should be the world's slogan. But if you get one real a-hole, then there's nothing a person can say to change their mind. There were a lot of a-holes on media websites spurting their hate speech.

As Red Robin pushed through the crowd, everyone seemed to be having a great time, and they all got along. They all appeared happy and were dancing to their hearts content. Then came the bump, and one guest of the club seemed to get a little upset that Red Robin had invaded his dance space. The man shoved Red Robin and that in turn caused him to bump others. He apologized, but obviously with the loud music, no one could hear him.

Two bouncers then stormed through the crowd, and Red Robin stopped, saw them, and backed off a little. Compared to him, they were the size of large brick houses with barrel chests and muscles that were larger than his head.

Red Robin raised his hands in a gesture of "easy-fellas". They probably thought he was causing trouble. Red Robin was amazed at just how many other people were dressed up in costumes and other unusual attire, so his costume was nothing special. It felt like he was at some sort of Halloween party, in fact. A lot of people were dressed like they were at comic-con or in a Japanese anime convention— _Otaku_ , he thought the term was. The owner even invited everyone to do such on the nightclub's website.

He knew about " _Otaku_ ", because once he and the guys dressed up to have a little fun at an Anime convention in Gotham—he really wanted to attend one and Dick agreed to join him, also interested. Dick called it a "social experiment" to see if they could blend in with the crowd in their own costumes. Dick said he did the same thing when he, Batman and Superman visited a "Bat Burger" joint. Tim knew Dick was just a kid at heart.

When Dick agreed, that also persuaded Damian to come—or rather he insisted he'd join them. Tim figured the kid was just jealous because he didn't want anyone else to have fun with Grayson alone, like Dick was his property or something? Like a pet dog.

Jason also agreed to come, but he didn't dress up. But at the convention, everyone complemented him on his two-tone hair, it was like as a version of _Shiro_ , in the new Voltron animated series Tim was familiar with, because of his white tuff of hair. Tim knew who he was, but Jason didn't have a clue, and he had to explain the character to Jason. That just made Tim a nerd, in Jason's eyes, he later said.

But they all ended up having a good time.

On the dance floor, surrounded by hundreds of clubbers, one bouncer pointed and indicated that Red Robin should vacant the dance floor. Red Robin counterpointed to Dick, and loudly said, "I'm trying to get my friend, fellas. He's not acting like himself. I don't want any trouble guys. Let me through! I'll haul him off, and they you can go back doing what you do! By the way—you know guy named Jason?"

The two powerhouses didn't seem to care who he was looking for, to them Red Robin was a troublemaker. Unlike the face Damian made when he was staunch-looking much like a bulldog, these two guys had the facial expressions of two mad pit-bulls with nasty attitudes. Red Robin didn't wish to hurt them, but if they weren't going to stand in his way to get to Dick Grayson, then he'd have to try to push through.

One bouncer grabbed him by the shoulder, and Red Robin grabbed the man's arm, twisted it, and then performed a counter-leg-sweep, that knocked the man off balance and onto his back to the floor. The other bouncer was quick to react and went to grab Red Robin too, but with a swirl-twist, the teen easily got around the man, and kneed him in the rear, forcing him to fall forward to his hands and knees.

Seemingly, both bouncers got up at the same time and charged him. It was a simple enough maneuver to avoid them and they crashed head-on into one another, bumping heads. Red Robin then took the opportunity to put the matter to rest and collided their heads together again, putting them to sleep on the floor. Red Robin dusted off his gloves and then smelled one glove. One of them had something pungent in his hair, some sort of bad hair cologne. But he had no time to debate what fowl thing it reminded him of.

Suddenly a hand gripped his shoulder and he was forcefully swung around.

Facing him was none other than Dick Grayson, but he was half naked and wearing only a pair of black speedos, that seemed slightly too tight for his muscular frame, budging up front. Okay, this was strange, Tim thought. _Why is he almost naked? Did the Happy Gas also make him revive his stripteasing time at that club, too?_

Happy to see him, Red Robin smiled, said loudly: "Hey, I'm so glad—"

Then Dick decked him in the face, as if taking it upon himself to defend the two defeated bouncers. Since they were employed by his friend Paul Hudson and had just seemingly been attacked by a strange person in a mask, Tim saw his point of view. Dick had originally come to the club to work as a bouncer (as a favour for his friend), was this re-engaging in the job?

Red Robin put a hand to his masked face and admitted that that was a really hard punch. He had felt one of Dick's punches before, but this was the hardest. But there was no blood. Suddenly instinct took over, and he found himself with his arms up, defending himself from a series of more punches.

Red Robin safely backed away, his training kicked in, and against Dick, off all people. He knew Dick couldn't possibly hear him, but he tried to persuade him to stop. However, the loud music prevented any reasonable conversion from being heard, and Dick looked to be in some sort of daze as if being controlled. Tim thought about using a Batarang to destroy one of the large sound woofers on the stage to stop the music, but then realized that that would be a bad idea; that would simply cause an unwanted chaos. And besides, he didn't think the music had anything to do with Dick's condition. It was the Happy Gas, Tim was sure of it.

His mission was to retrieve Dick Grayson, but for whatever reason, Dick acted like he didn't know Red Robin, as if he was brainwashed. It felt like to Tim that he was back in the Scarecrow's warehouse fighting against the minion the villain pitted against him after he doused the man with a large spray of his latest hallucination drug. But according to Harley, this wasn't supposed to happen with the Happy Gas. It was supposed to give the infected feelings of elation with sensations of joy, not cause them to attack others.

 _So, does this mean Dick likes to fight? That it makes him happy?_ Tim wondered.

The crowd appeared to give them space, encircling them, like they were forming an arena of sport around them, and some guests even hollered and cheered, egging Dick on, as if he and Tim were a part of the night's entertainment—a special event. One person even labeled the fight: "Naked Dude vs Condom Head!" _Okay,_ Tim decided. It was time to re-think his costume choice and change his mask back to the simple adhesive version over the eyes.

Red Robin ducked as Dick tried to hammer home a heavy right cross, then Dick followed up with a wild uppercut, that Red Robin just narrowly whiffed, arching backwards. It was obvious, however, the Happy Gas was affecting Dick to a weird extreme, that it now turned a deadly turn. The sensation to "having fun" had apparently taken a backseat. Dick was now fighting to protect the clubbers from what he saw as an attacking enemy who wished to harm them.

And Tim Drake knew, when Dick meant business, there was little, but no one could do to beat him.

 _Fine._ Red Robin could play the same game. But he was conflicted in fighting his older adopted brother. After a quick series of more punches by Dick, even a sharp knee that could've crushed his solar plexus if he had not just narrowly avoided it, it was time to get serious.

It wouldn't be easy, but he'd have to defeat Dick Grayson— _Nightwing_ —and the first Robin, trained by Bruce Wayne— _Batman_ , if he— _Red Robin_ —was to save Dick from himself.

The nightclub was now a more dangerous place to be.

_To Be Continued…_


	2. Part 2

Stepping back to give himself room to fight, Red Robin readied himself, and got into a Muay Thai defensive posture with his hands in equal lateral position from the other. He twisted his body and shifted sideways to defend against any and all kicks and assorted attacks. And with that last attack, it was most assured that Dick Grayson was using a loose form of Muay Thai thrown into his normal fighting style. He wanted to match the style.

Suddenly, Dick switched from his currently fighting style and Red Robin had to avoid a high kick. Lucky his hand was in a suitable position and he was able to swat Dick's leg down. The force caused Dick to temporarily loose his balance and he had to counteract with a somersault. But then Dick quickly came up with both hands in the air within Red Robin's defence and that left Red Robin's mid-section momentarily exposed.

Dick Grayson, quick as ever, with his own fighting instinct, used that moment to switch his tactics yet again to a fighting style known as Sambo. He knew so many different fighting styles taught to him by Bruce over the years. He grabbed Red Robin around the wrist, literally clutching him like a bear and using Red Robin's own weight against him. Dick swept a leg underneath Red Robin, forced him off balance—he was still in his Muay Thai pose—and flipped him over his shoulder. Red Robin crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, his breath leaving him with a deep exhale.

Moments later, with a quick recovery, Red Robin rolled to flee Dick Grayson's reach, then stopped, and got to one knee. He felt his right ribs and a soreness began. His suit only protected him so much. _That was for real,_ he thought. Dick was actually trying to hurt him. And yet, that was the way Bruce taught all of them—never let your opponent get used to your abilities and fighting techniques because most assuredly they'll always formulate a counter-measure. And Dick Grayson was one of the best fighting technicians Tim Drake knew.

However, it was kind of strange to be fighting the man he looked up to most in his underwear. But like the ancient gladiators of Rome who fought naked, Dick was not restricted right now by clothing of any sort, and with his abnormal flexibility, he probably felt light as a feather. And that was even more dangerous for Tim. A more flexible Dick Grayson was like a Praying Mantis in his natural habitant, nothing defeated it.

He quickly psyched himself up. _Two can play at this game_ , he thought.

Red Robin detached his cape and tossed it to the floor. Then he unlatched his belt and deceased the weight even further. He must have just lost thirty pounds. Without their added weight, he could now more freely.

He switched his fighting style and delivered a one-two-punching-combo and a series of kicks set in the style of Karate with a little bit of Judo thrown in to mix it up. However, Dick Grayson blocked them easily, striking down with his hands, pushing away kicks, and avoided further strikes by now dancing around him, once again changing-up his fighting style to Muay Thai, and preforming was what commonly known as the wai kru ram muay. It was basically a ritual dance, but it was also a way to stay mobile from an opponent's attack.

It was at this moment that Drake came to the realization that he doubt he was going to defeat the man who had vastly more fighting experience, technical skill and flexibility, than he could ever dream of possessing.

But then he smiled. The answer to defeat Dick Grayson came to him in a flash, so to speak.

While Jason had his brutal strength, Damian had his background training with the League of Assassins, and Dick was born into a family of acrobats, Tim had something neither one of them had, and it was time to use that talent to his advantage—he could completely outwit his opponents every time with it.

He readied himself for the fight.

He thought quickly and formulated a plan of attack. Dick continued to "dance" around him—the crowd they had accumulated cheered and hollered—and Tim turned in conjunction while Dick encircled him.

Then Dick attacked, switched once more to another martial arts, and went with Ju-Jitsu this time, delivering a really high kick that, if Tim hadn't leaned back, would've probably taken his head off. There was a lot of power behind the attack, too. However, as Tim knew, Dick was extremely flexible, and without notice, Dick fell into a splits on the floor, and went to hammer home a punch to Tim's groin. He whacked Dick's hand away and twisted in mid-air, following through in a karate manoeuvre that brought about instant gratification when it came to countering—he used an upper kick to clock Dick in the chin, and this forced Dick face down to the floor.

Dick recovered, but looked momentarily stunned holding his chin, wiping blood from the side of his mouth. The kick must have caused his teeth to tear in his lips with the impact. Dick flipped up to his feet in perfect form. It was then he paused, blinking for a moment. Had that jarred something? Awakened Dick from his "brainwashing" caused by the Happy Gas? It was short lived, but it was something to work with, Tim mused. Did pain counter the Happy Gas?

Dick scowled and went straight into a defensive posture.

Dick often talked to his enemies to distract them, but with all the loud music, Tim couldn't follow that. And with all these people jeering Dick on, it was hard to establish another advantage. Tim was an expert in computers, and he could quickly analysis algorithms, system code, and other related data. The same thing could be used with fighting, in theory. If you knew a person's fighting ability, agility, flexibility, and mindset, then you could literally predict their next move. While he could do that, that form of predicability went directly against Batman's teachings, and Dick knew this, even on an instinctive level. So, if Dick kept changing his fighting styles—how could he be defeated?

He thought of Dick like a computer program and the answer immediately came to him—he had to plant a virus. He had to somehow disrupt Dick's interior thinking, even instinctively, with something outside the box. If the Happy Gas was causing crossed-wiring within Dick's brain, then he had to cut the wire, per se, and re-write the junctions, adding a new pathway for information to flow. Basically, he had to force Dick to wake-the-hell-up!

And use the possible weakness he just learned about. _It was dirty, it was under-handed—but it just might work!_

"Hey, Dick—" His mentor appeared to be in no mood to talk, as he shouted. "Barbara called…" he said, putting his hands over his mouth to get better distance. "She says she's pregnant!"

Tim knew both Barbara and Dick had an off-and-on relationship, sort of a 'friends with benefits' thing going on, and he used that to his advantage. Anything to do with Barbara, Dick suddenly had tunnel-vision.

This instantly halted everything and Dick seemed to freeze on the spot, his eyes wider than Tim had ever seen them. Dick already had a daughter with Starfire, a Tamaran princess—Boy, Dick got all the gorgeous girls—whom he had partnered with during his Teen Titan days, but over the years, despite trying, Dick and Barbara Gordon had never been able to have kids. And Dick was never shy in saying how much they tried.

Dick's mouth went agape, and that was Tim's opening—attacking hard and fast!

He lunged at Grayson and pounced on him like a wild cat, pinning him to the ground. Then he began pummelling him with right and left hooks to the face, one after the another—in repeated context.

"Stop it, Tim! Stop it! Why are you attacking me?" Dick shouted, suddenly aware of Tim on top of him. But Tim didn't relent. _Pain, that was the ticket._ That was how to counteract the Happy Gas. It was a morbid way of thing, but in order to wake a person up from their fog, you needed to shock the happiness away.

Dick pushed Tim off, wiped his face of blood. But Tim followed with a wicked roundhouse kick to his mentor's face, forcing Dick to recoil. Tim then further followed through with a knee to Dick's solar plexus similar to what Dick had tried to do him in the beginning.

Dick folded over. And with a final karate chop to the back of the neck, the fight was over. He didn't let Dick recover and he didn't respond to any of his cries to stop. Dick Grayson collapsed to the floor unconscious. And for a moment, Red Robin felt rotten. It was like, for this one moment, he had become the thing he hated the most. He had beat his opponent senseless despite his cries for mercy. But he shook it off. It had to be done.

It was a nasty way to win, but if he hadn't distracted Dick by tricking him, then the fight may've gone on for a very long time, and he needed to go help Batman. Dick wasn't a weak man, by far. But when it came to Barbara Gordon, Tim knew, he would give his life to save her. The Lazarus Pit restored her ability to walk again after her spine was crushed and she was in a wheelchair for a time, Dick stuck by her side every step of the way. But she was Dick's everything—his first love—and knowing Dick, he would go through hell's fire to protect what he cared about most.

The crowd cheered like drunken college frat boys, and the same person who had labelled the fight "Naked Guy vs Condom Head", shouted, " _Awwwwright!_ What an awesome battle! The dick won!"

The irony of it was, no, _the Dick_ had lost.

Yes, it was time for a costume switch, Tim admitted. He had only recently switched from his other costume to the full head shroud because he had let his hair grow longer, and also, for the reason Victor Freeze had used his Ice Acid to melt the cross-straps of his other costume and chest armour. Until they were repaired, he had to wear his alternative. But after this, and this complete stranger giving him the nickname Condom Head, it was definitely time for a hair trim and to go back to his other costume. He'd double his efforts to repair everything in quick order.

Tim went over and picked up his cape, clipped it around his neck and then clamped his belt back on. Then he lifted Dick onto his shoulder, collected what clothes of Dick's he could find and carried him off the dance floor.

END


End file.
